Visit LatticeGear- Booth 86 (Nano Technology Solutions)

At IMC19 see live of sample preparation demos on the LatticeAx cleaving system and the FlipScribe backside scriber. Both prepare glass, sapphire, III-V, SiC and silicon. The LatticeAx integrates the indent and cleaving steps in a single tool and is cleanroom compatible, watch our latest video here. The FlipScribe scribes withouttouching fragile frontside features, ideal for compound substrates and off-crystalline cleaving.

Learn how you can downsize wafers and prepare samples in the cleanroom—without compromising the cleanliness of the cleanroom or wafers. Contact lg@latticegear.com for a copy of the paper.

First you may ask “Why implement a cleaving process in the cleanroom?”:

Here is what the Operations Director of a National Nanofabrication Facility had to say,

“Here at our nanofabrication facility, we found that after installing the micro-indent [LatticeAx 420] in our cleanroom, users are no longer cleaving samples in the lithography area. Additionally, the “cleaner” cleaving process of the micro-indent creates very few shards and particles that are easily vacuumed. Users are motivated by the capabilities of the LatticeAx and rewarded with a cleaner process. It’s a win-win scenario”

LatticeGear presents a process and data showing how the LatticeAx 420 scribeless cleaving system was used to cleanly cleave wafers. To obtain statistics, 60 samples were cleaved out of 10 whole, 4” silicon wafers. The results showed no increase in particle count.

Last week, LatticeGear with the great support of its local agent, V-TEK Co., LtD., delivered the seminar about ‘The power of the weak point: how to secure clean imaging and true analysis (in cleanroom too) at leading academic institutes across Taiwan (CGU, NTUST, NCKU, NCHU, NCTU) aiming to educate those who need to use cleaving technology (downsizing, cross-sections) to prepare samples for characterization. This type of lecture is not part of any curriculum, yet fundamental for research and development.

It was highly appreciated by those professors who are responsible for nanofabrication facilities to teach users how to properly cleave in the cleanroom with no contamination, as well as for researchers with limited sample material and must secure sample prep outcome (without the luck factor). Accurate characterization requires clean, sample preparation that does not alter the surface / sub-surface of the starting material.While we all invest much time and funds into our microscopes, we hardly talk about sample prep, YET as the microscopes advance, correct sample prep becomes critical.

Please contact LatticeGear at lg@latticegear.com if you would like to schedule a seminar at your industrial or academic laboratory.

Failure analysis (FA) on MEMS devices involves decapsulating the bonded MEMS device. If the decapsulation is destructive and/or contaminating, it will affect the analysis and lead to wrong conclusions.Therefore, it is of great importance to establish a reliable (with high success rate and least damages/risks) approach for MEMS decapsulation.

Download the Poster from IPFA 2107 and learn how engineers at Global Foundries developed a novel method, using the LatticeAx cleaving tool, to decapsulate their MEMS devices.

LatticeGear Partners with NanoTechnology Solutions to offer cleaving and scribing solutions in Australia and New Zealand

Beaverton, Oregon; May 22, 2017: LatticeGear, LLC. and NanoTechnology Solutions have announced a distribution agreement that brings LatticeGear’s innovative cleaving and scribing solutions to sample preparation workflows in electronics and materials research labs in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ).

“NanoTechnology Solutions’ expertise in microscopy and sample preparation makes them the ideal partner to support our customers in ANZ,” said Efrat Moyal, Co-Founder of LatticeGear. “We are confident that engineers and scientists who want to add LatticeGear high accuracy scribing and cleaving techniques to their lab will get the same expert advice as if they had come to us directly.”

LatticeGear specializes in cleaving and scribing solutions and the resources that enable their users to quickly achieve clean, straight cross sections and precision sample downsizing for materials characterization, research and development as well as failure analysis. The innovative LatticeAx® Scribeless Cleaving System and FlipScribe® back side scribing tool are easy to use, delivering the flexible, repeatable and high accuracy processes to meet stringent sample preparation requirements, even in the cleanroom.

NanoTechnology Solutions specializes in supply and service of microscopy and sample preparation instruments across Australia and New Zealand. They have extensive experience in high resolution imaging techniques such as Electron Microscopy and Scanning Probe Microscopy for both materials science and biological samples. They put their strong knowledge to work with training and expert advice on sample preparation and imaging – even for complex materials and challenging applications – to help researchers achieve desired results in their projects.

At ISTFA 2016 in Fort Worth, Texas LatticeGear presented customer results describing how the LatticeAx indenting and cleaving system was used for precise downsizing of a <100 micron thin die that was removed from its package prior to delayering. Delayering a thin, fragile die (layer by layer, edge to edge) is a manual process, an art. Typical downsizing methods such as sawing or manual cleaving can be difficult to control resulting in fractured die and lost targets. A LatticeAx tool owner developed an innovative downsizing solution using the micro line “indent to cleave” process. It is a hands free, 2 minute process. The application is most appealing when the target area is known and the sample thin <100 microns. The following images show the process. Contact lg@latticegear.com for more information on this application.

LatticeGear exhibited at ISTFA 2016 in Fort Worth, Texas, November 8-9. A full suite of cleaving and scribing tools was demonstrated. The tools included the new LatticeAx 225 high accuracy indenting and cleaving system, small sample pliers and the FlipScribe backside scriber. LatticeGear also presented a presentation called “Using Micro line indentation to downsize thin and out-of-package-die”. It was a good time to learn about best practices for sample preparation of electronic devices and to catch up with colleagues in the industry.

The NEW LatticeAx 225 integrates an ultra-stable indent and cleaving platform with the 120 base indent and cleaving system. This system is easy to operate and compact ( platform is 13″x11″). The new design enables magnification and focus to be changed without mechanical adjustments to the microscopes working distance. The perfect, indent and cleaving system with microscope vision for downsizing wafers and a wide variety of samples for analysis or further processing. READ MORE

Photoresist, because it is soft, makes it difficult to cross section mechanically or with the FIB. The best solution is to cleave the sample and image it directly in the SEM. This makes the LatticeAx the perfect tool for sample preparation of photoresist cross sections. The resist structure is not changed in the process and the simple cleave is achieved in <5 minutes.

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About LatticeGear

LatticeGear has developed solutions for preparing the highest quality scribed and cleaved samples. Our smart mechanical solutions deliver samples with speed and simplicity at low startup cost and without service contracts. LatticeGear solutions enable you to get to the business of analysis faster. LatticeGear is a certified Emerging Small Business (ESB), Women Business Enterprise (WBE) and Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), Certification #10516.

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Welcome to LatticeGear

LatticeGear has developed solutions for preparing the highest quality scribed and cleaved samples. Our smart mechanical solutions deliver samples with speed and simplicity at low startup cost and without service contracts. LatticeGear solutions enable you to get to the business of analysis faster.